Companies that have credit card processing capabilities have an opportunity to make more than companies that do not have credit card processing capabilities. However, how do you figure out exactly how much more your business stands to make?
How Many People In the Area Use Credit Cards?
The first thing that your company needs to do is figure out how many people would use credit cards if they could. One way to figure this out is to find out the percentage of customers at local businesses use credit cards. The second way to figure this out is to ask your customers if they would use credit cards if offered the opportunity.
How Much Business Does the Company Do Online?
When customers shop online, they are likely to use their credit cards to pay for their purchases. Therefore, you need to find out how many customers would shop online instead of visiting your store. Then, you need to figure out how many customers would use a credit card as opposed to a PayPal account or with an eCheck.
Which Credit Cards Will Be Accepted?
It is critical that your business accepts credit cards that are widely used. A company that doesn’t accept credit cards that customers want to use will find that there may not be much of an added benefit to accepting credit cards. You should also consider whether or not a store branded credit card will be offered to customers. This could entice your customers to use a credit card when they otherwise might not.
How Much Do Merchant Accounts Cost?
The last piece of information you need is how much merchant accounts cost. Merchant account providers generally charge a signup fee and may charge other fees as well. On top of any administrative fees that you may face, your business will have to pay a processing fee each time a credit card is used to make a payment.
There is a lot of research that needs to be done before you can determine with any certainty how much money your company can bring in by offering credit cards. It is important to know how many people use credit cards now, would like to use credit cards in the future and which cards people are most likely to use. Otherwise, you could be offering customers a service that they don’t want or need.